stabbing | 

Jealous husband jailed over terrifying Christmas Day axe attack on wife and son in Cork

Laszlo Nemeth threatened to kill his wife Eva, son Erik and Erik’s partner Klaudia on December 25, 2021

Today at 19:37

A FORMER soldier consumed by jealousy over his wife subjected her to a frenzied stabbing attack at a rural cottage on Christmas Day before chasing his son around the garden with a long-handled axe.

Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard that Laszlo Nemeth (58) threatened to kill his wife, Eva, his son, Erik, and his son’s partner, Klaudia Borz, during an incident on December 25, 2021.

The attack prompted a massive Garda manhunt with the former Hungarian soldier, who qualified as a pilot, being found a short distance from his son’s north Cork home in a forested area with serious self-inflicted injuries.

Judge James McCourt was told the unprovoked attack was launched by Nemeth – who was intensely jealous of his wife – after she had fled their family home while he was on a long-haul truck journey between Ireland and Hungary.

When he returned to the family’s Cork home, he was told his wife wanted to separate and neither she nor his son would inform him of her whereabouts.

Nemeth agreed to meet his wife and son at Erik’s property at Glen North, Banteer in Cork on Christmas morning in a bid to discuss an amicable resolution.

Judge McCourt imposed a five year prison sentence on Nemeth – who has been in custody since January 6, 2022 and has already served the equivalent of a two year and four month prison sentence with remission.

The judge agreed to suspend the final six months of the five year sentence in light of Nemeth’s plea and avowed desire to return to Hungary.

Nemeth must leave Ireland within 72 hours of his release from prison.

Judge McCourt warned that Nemeth is to have no contact, direct or indirect, with his wife and son.

Further, he directed that Nemeth stay out of Ireland on a permanent basis after his release: “(He is) not to return for any reason.”

The judge warned it was a very serious incident with the threats involved “very real and must have been terrifying.”

He agreed to backdate the sentence to January 6, 2022.

Judge McCourt noted that both Eva and Erik Nemeth were still living in fear of the 58-year-old truck driver.

Nemeth pleaded guilty to two counts of assault causing harm to his wife, Eva Nemeth (52), and his son Erik (30), on December 25, 2021 contrary to Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.

The Hungarian, who operated his own transport business between Ireland and Budapest, also pleaded guilty to threatening to kill Eva and Erik Nemeth as well as Eric’s partner, Klaudia.

Nemeth also pleaded guilty to the production of weapons during the incident including a fishing knife and a long-handled axe.

Detective Garda Padraig Reddington said the incident followed the decision by Eva Nemeth to flee the family home.

The court was told that Laszlo Nemeth subjected his wife to multiple violent incidents over the course of their marriage, was very jealous of her and obsessive of who she met and spoke to.

Having left the family home, she was only in contact with her husband by social media messages.

Det Garda Reddington said they agreed to meet on Christmas Day at the property occupied by her son, Erik, and his partner, Klaudia.

The discussion eventually became heated and, when Eva, Erik and Klaudia used a pre-arranged signal to take their dogs for a walk to allow matters to cool, Laszlo Nemeth confronted his wife outside.

The defendant had threatened to run his wife over with his vehicle – and then approached her with a fishing knife and stabbed her four times in the back.

Eva Nemeth turned around and tried to defend herself at which point her husband stabbed her again in the chest.

Klaudia struck at the defendant with a dog lead in a bid to protect Eva Nemeth before Erik ran out to desperately help his mother.

Laszlo Nemeth slashed at him with the knife, cutting the young man’s finger, before the defendant grabbed a long-handled axe and raised it over his head.

He then proceeded to chase his son around the garden with the axe.

The latter part of the incident was captured on CCTV security camera footage at the property.

Det Garda Reddington said that the truck driver threatened to kill all three.

Klaudia used a coat to try to staunch the blood pouring from Eva Nemeth’s back and the older woman admitted she thought she was going to bleed out and die as one of her arms went numb.

The family managed to alert the emergency services and Laszlo Nemeth left the scene before Gardaí and paramedics arrived.

A manhunt was launched by gardaí with the defendant found in a forested area some two hours later with self-inflicted wounds.

He was then hospitalised for over a fortnight.

Eva Nemeth suffered serious stab injuries to her back and chest, one of which resulted in her sustaining a collapsed lung.

She was discharged from Cork University Hospital (CUH) on December 31 but the court heard she still suffers from back and neck pain.

Judge McCourt was told that while the mother and son were in court to hear Laszlo Nemeth’s plea they did not wish to stay for the sentencing hearing.

In a victim impact statement read out by Det Garda Reddington, Eva Nemeth said she was still living in fear.

“I am still frightened by his words and threats to take my life. I have thoughts that he will keep his word and finish what he started on Christmas Day once he is released from prison,” she wrote.

“I heard multiple times (of) his death threats – and I did not take them seriously enough.”

“He already spread lies to discredit me. He said shameful things about me.”

Eva Nemeth said that as she was lying in a pool of her own blood she feared she was going to die.

Erik Nemeth said his father had been “blame-shifting” – with some members of their family wrongly blaming the young man for what happened when he was desperately trying to protect his mother from harm.

“I have huge and constant fear of the future. How do I protect my mother? A restraining order will not keep away someone like him.”

His partner, Klaudia, said Laszlo Nemeth had shown his true character that day and that she is still haunted by the sight of Eva Nemeth lying blood-soaked on the ground after the attack and fearing she would “bleed out.”

Defence counsel, Ray Boland SC, said his client had apologised to his wife, son and his son’s partner for what happened and had pleaded guilty to save them the experience of a trial.

Alcohol was not a factor in the incident.

Mr Boland noted his client had no convictions in either Ireland or Hungary, had been a hard-working man to provide for his family and was now willing to move back to Hungary to allow his wife and son continue their lives in Ireland.

“He will stay away from his wife, his son and his son’s girlfriend,” Mr Boland said.

“He intends to return to Hungary (on his release from prison). He wants to restart his life (outside Ireland).”